Second Wind
I recently renewed my contract to work in Malaysia for another 2 years, which means I get a second stab at this, which means yet another clean slate. The universe has always been generous with me when it comes to clean slates, so salud, universe!
My second wind was off to a great start, with not one, not two, but three chances to (re)connect with some very important people.
Since I moved here to Malaysia in 2013, I've been fortunate enough to have so many Saudi friends drop by, keep me grounded, and remind me that I'm worth something – at least worth a visit from thousands of miles away. It's a lovely feeling, and I am not without gratitude!
Obviously when the fantastic oddball and Saudi cewebrity Alia (and long-time friend of this blog!) showed up at my Malaysian doorstep, I went nuts. I hadn't seen this woman in years, and on my way to the airport to pick her up, I felt the same way I would whenever I get to see my own sister or my brothers after a long time – I was ecstatic!
Sure enough, as soon as we got in our Uber and were on our way back to my place, we had a moment of pause, and she was like, "What do we talk about? We're not friends, you know?"
And she was right. We're not friends, not in the conventional way at least. We knew each other through our blogs for years before we met in person once, and then after that, we'd only see each other once every few years when she'd visit Jeddah for her papers. Everything else happened online.
Our internet selves were close friends online. How do our real-life selves reconcile this, and especially outside of our Jeddah comfort zone?
Easily, it turns out. We have the advantage of sharing not only Jeddah, but also Asia, among other things that include writing, a zodiac sign, common friends and a sense of self. She's basically me. It's a strange feeling, but in a strange land that is not quite my home, it is also comforting.
The best thing about spending time with Alia is that there's always a takeaway. This time, it was the concept of Service, which isn't something I'd ever considered to be a priority on my list of things to do. Service to the universe, kindness and goodness, and faith in people that is rewarded with more of the same. I keep this lesson close to the chest.
Offline, my closest friends with the same Jeddah and Southeast Asia denominator are the Noordins. Half-desi half-Thai and born-and-raised in Saudi Arabia, Sarah, Dina and Ibrahim are pretty much my siblings, with our families and histories now so intertwined. We'd made plans to meet up this side of the globe last year, and it only came to fruition a couple weeks ago when we decided to do Bangkok.
It's so unfortunate that my Saudi friends don't travel to Thailand, because Bangkok is awesome. My short stay was made even better by Sarah's presence, as she could speak Thai and is a great person to travel with. I hadn't seen her in almost 3 years, which is a long-ass time considering that for about 8 years before that, we'd spent almost every day hanging out.
We only had 3 days to catch up before she had to fly out to a different city, and afterwards, I was left to my own devices for another 2 days before I had to come home. As I'm not much of a traveller (I'm not adventurous, and I stick to the hotel like glue), I spent those two days getting some work done and venturing out mildly into the unknown. What travelling has really taught me is courage, because I'm such a wuss in unfamiliar environments, so I'll still take this trip as a superwin.
Ai, a native of Southern Philippines like myself, is a doctor whose blog I started following a few years ago. I'd always been on the lookout for Maranao bloggers as I wanted to meet people who had the same background and interests as myself, and Ai was one of few that I stumbled upon. She is currently based in Bangkok, so when I was there, I thought I'd reach out and meet her in person.
I'm probably just lucky to be the kind of person who (knock-on-wood) only meets awesome people online and then in-person (see Khayra Bundakji, Alia Makki, Ahmed Al-Omran, Saad Al-Dosari, Qusay Fayumi, Omair Taibah and Asma Qadah among many others). Ai turned out to be exactly the kind of Maranao I've always wanted to be – smart, driven, purposeful, grounded, warm, funny and culturally intellectual and respectful.
Meeting Ai humbled me, and she made me sit up straighter and reflect on my purpose in life, to think about who I am, where I come from, and where I'm headed.
I hope this good fortune and momentum keeps me going until I have to change gears. This quarter of 2016 is the best one yet.
My second wind was off to a great start, with not one, not two, but three chances to (re)connect with some very important people.
Since I moved here to Malaysia in 2013, I've been fortunate enough to have so many Saudi friends drop by, keep me grounded, and remind me that I'm worth something – at least worth a visit from thousands of miles away. It's a lovely feeling, and I am not without gratitude!
Hning's Asia
Obviously when the fantastic oddball and Saudi cewebrity Alia (and long-time friend of this blog!) showed up at my Malaysian doorstep, I went nuts. I hadn't seen this woman in years, and on my way to the airport to pick her up, I felt the same way I would whenever I get to see my own sister or my brothers after a long time – I was ecstatic!
Sure enough, as soon as we got in our Uber and were on our way back to my place, we had a moment of pause, and she was like, "What do we talk about? We're not friends, you know?"
And she was right. We're not friends, not in the conventional way at least. We knew each other through our blogs for years before we met in person once, and then after that, we'd only see each other once every few years when she'd visit Jeddah for her papers. Everything else happened online.
Our internet selves were close friends online. How do our real-life selves reconcile this, and especially outside of our Jeddah comfort zone?
Easily, it turns out. We have the advantage of sharing not only Jeddah, but also Asia, among other things that include writing, a zodiac sign, common friends and a sense of self. She's basically me. It's a strange feeling, but in a strange land that is not quite my home, it is also comforting.
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| Sunday chillage in my living room with Alia. (Photo by her.) |
The best thing about spending time with Alia is that there's always a takeaway. This time, it was the concept of Service, which isn't something I'd ever considered to be a priority on my list of things to do. Service to the universe, kindness and goodness, and faith in people that is rewarded with more of the same. I keep this lesson close to the chest.
Bangkok with Sarah
Offline, my closest friends with the same Jeddah and Southeast Asia denominator are the Noordins. Half-desi half-Thai and born-and-raised in Saudi Arabia, Sarah, Dina and Ibrahim are pretty much my siblings, with our families and histories now so intertwined. We'd made plans to meet up this side of the globe last year, and it only came to fruition a couple weeks ago when we decided to do Bangkok.
It's so unfortunate that my Saudi friends don't travel to Thailand, because Bangkok is awesome. My short stay was made even better by Sarah's presence, as she could speak Thai and is a great person to travel with. I hadn't seen her in almost 3 years, which is a long-ass time considering that for about 8 years before that, we'd spent almost every day hanging out.
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| Cheap street food (20baht is US$ 0.50) |
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| The temple gatekeeper. |
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| Maintenance at the Wat Pho temple. |
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| Lumpini Park |
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| Long-boat ride in Bangkok with Suhail and Sarah. |
We only had 3 days to catch up before she had to fly out to a different city, and afterwards, I was left to my own devices for another 2 days before I had to come home. As I'm not much of a traveller (I'm not adventurous, and I stick to the hotel like glue), I spent those two days getting some work done and venturing out mildly into the unknown. What travelling has really taught me is courage, because I'm such a wuss in unfamiliar environments, so I'll still take this trip as a superwin.
Maranao Bloggers
Ai, a native of Southern Philippines like myself, is a doctor whose blog I started following a few years ago. I'd always been on the lookout for Maranao bloggers as I wanted to meet people who had the same background and interests as myself, and Ai was one of few that I stumbled upon. She is currently based in Bangkok, so when I was there, I thought I'd reach out and meet her in person.
I'm probably just lucky to be the kind of person who (knock-on-wood) only meets awesome people online and then in-person (see Khayra Bundakji, Alia Makki, Ahmed Al-Omran, Saad Al-Dosari, Qusay Fayumi, Omair Taibah and Asma Qadah among many others). Ai turned out to be exactly the kind of Maranao I've always wanted to be – smart, driven, purposeful, grounded, warm, funny and culturally intellectual and respectful.
Meeting Ai humbled me, and she made me sit up straighter and reflect on my purpose in life, to think about who I am, where I come from, and where I'm headed.
I hope this good fortune and momentum keeps me going until I have to change gears. This quarter of 2016 is the best one yet.
Ainanaw, mapiya ka miyakathoona kano sangkoto a ari aken a Ai-Ai. Hehe:-) Malo ako mambo diimakathalenda n'drug igira a ped aken. Hehe:-) Miss you, druggie! Phangnin ta a makapagilaya ta zaroman sa magaan! :-)
ReplyDelete<3 <3 <3 Osto dn. So lagid ta a mapasang n'drug na malo ta pkaya igira a aya ta pd na mapiya a tao (mashAllah tebarakAllah). Ameen ya rabb na makatoona ta sa magaan!
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